Synthesis, Development, and Testing of High-Surface-Area Polymer-Based Adsorbents for the Selective Recovery of Uranium from Seawater

Oyola, Yatsandra; Janke, Christopher J.; Dai, Sheng

doi:10.1021/acs.iecr.5b03981

Title: Synthesis, Development, and Testing of High-Surface-Area Polymer-Based Adsorbents for the Selective Recovery of Uranium from Seawater

Journal Article · Mon Feb 29 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.5b03981· OSTI ID:1261291

Oyola, Yatsandra ^[1]; Janke, Christopher J. ^[2]; Dai, Sheng ^[1]

Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical Sciences Division
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Material Science and Technology Division

The ocean contains uranium with an approximate concentration of 3.34 ppb, which can serve as an incredible supply source to sustain nuclear energy in the United States. Unfortunately, technology currently available to recover uranium from seawater is not efficient enough and mining uranium on land is still more economical. For this study, we have developed polymer-based adsorbents with high uranium adsorption capacities by grafting amidoxime onto high-surface-area polyethylene (PE) fibers. Various process conditions have been screened, in combination with developing a rapid testing protocol (<24 h), to optimize the process. These adsorbents are synthesized through radiation-induced grafting of acrylonitrile (AN) and methacrylic acid (MAA) onto PE fibers, followed by the conversion of nitriles to amidoximes and basic conditioning. In addition, the uranium adsorption capacity, measured in units of g_U/kg_ads, is greatly increased by reducing the diameter of the PE fiber or changing its morphology. An increase in the surface area of the PE polymer fiber allows for more grafting sites that are positioned in more-accessible locations, thereby increasing access to grafted molecules that would normally be located in the interior of a fiber with a larger diameter. Polymer fibers with hollow morphologies are able to adsorb beyond 1 order of magnitude more uranium from simulated seawater than current commercially available adsorbents. Finally, several high-surface-area fibers were tested in natural seawater and were able to extract 5–7 times more uranium than any adsorbent reported to date.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1261291

Journal Information:: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 55, Issue 15; ISSN 0888-5885

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 62 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (42)

Extraction of Uranium from Sea Water Davies, R. V.; Kennedy, J.; McILROY, R. W. Nature, Vol. 203, Issue 4950 https://doi.org/10.1038/2031110a0	journal	September 1964
Separation of uranium from seawater by adsorbing colloid flotation Kim, Young S.; Zeitlin, Harry. Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 43, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1021/ac60305a014	journal	August 1971
Status of Technology for the Recovery of Uranium from Seawater Kelmers, A. D. Separation Science and Technology, Vol. 16, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1080/01496398108057597	journal	October 1981
Amidoxime-group-containg adsorbents for metal ions synthesized by radiation-induced grafting Okamoto, J.; Sugo, T.; Katakai, A. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 30, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/app.1985.070300720	journal	July 1985
Present Status of Study on Extraction of Uranium from Sea Water Kanno, Masayoshi Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, Vol. 21, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/18811248.1984.9731004	journal	January 1984
Extraction of uranium from sea water by cultured algae Heide, E. A.; Wagener, K.; Paschke, M. Die Naturwissenschaften, Vol. 60, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00623560	journal	September 1973
Sorption of uranyl ions on hydrous titanium dioxide Lieser, K. H.; Thybusch, B. Fresenius' Zeitschrift für analytische Chemie, Vol. 332, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00468814	journal	January 1988
Uranium Sorption on Various Forms of Titanium Dioxide – Influence of Surface Area, Surface Charge, and Impurities Comarmond, M. Josick; Payne, Timothy E.; Harrison, Jennifer J. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 45, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1021/es201046x	journal	July 2011
Adsorption of uranyl ion onto an anthraquinone based ion-imprinted copolymer Fasihi, J.; Ammari Alahyari, S.; Shamsipur, M. Reactive and Functional Polymers, Vol. 71, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2011.03.014	journal	August 2011
Development of Sorbers for the Recovery of Uranium from Seawater. 1. Assessment of Key Parameters and Screening Studies of Sorber Materials Schenk, H. J.; Astheimer, L.; Witte, E. G. Separation Science and Technology, Vol. 17, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1080/01496398208056103	journal	August 1982
Development of Sorbers for the Recovery of Uranium from Seawater. Part 2. The Accumulation of Uranium from Seawater by Resins Containing Amidoxime and Imidoxime Functional Groups Astheimer, L.; Schenk, H. J.; Witte, E. G. Separation Science and Technology, Vol. 18, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1080/01496398308068568	journal	April 1983
Sorption of uranium(VI) from aqueous solution onto magnesium silicate hollow spheres Fan, Fangli; Ding, Huajie; Bai, Jing Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 289, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-011-1091-1	journal	April 2011
Sorption of uranium(VI) using oxime-grafted ordered mesoporous carbon CMK-5 Tian, Gan; Geng, Junxia; Jin, Yongdong Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 190, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.03.066	journal	June 2011
Solid phase extractive preconcentration of uranium(VI) onto diarylazobisphenol modified activated carbon Starvin, A. M.; Rao, T. Prasada Talanta, Vol. 63, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2003.11.001	journal	May 2004
Chemical aspects of uranium recovery from seawater by amidoximated electron-beam-grafted polypropylene membranes Das, Sadananda; Pandey, A. K.; Athawale, Anjali Desalination, Vol. 232, Issue 1-3, p. 243-253 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2007.09.019	journal	November 2008
Exchanges of Uranium(VI) Species in Amidoxime-Functionalized Sorbents Das, Sadananda; Pandey, Ashok K.; Athawale, Anjali A. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 113, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp8097928	journal	April 2009
Adsorption of UO2+2 by polyethylene adsorbents with amidoxime, carboxyl, and amidoxime/carboxyl group Choi, Seong-Ho; Nho, Young Chang Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Vol. 57, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-806X(99)00348-5	journal	February 2000
Ordered nanoporous polymer–carbon composites Choi, Minkee; Ryoo, Ryong Nature Materials, Vol. 2, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat923	journal	June 2003
Adsorption of uranium(VI) onto Ulva sp.-sepiolite composite Donat, R.; Esen, K.; Cetisli, H. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 279, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-007-7243-7	journal	July 2008
Enhancement of uranyl ion uptake by prestructuring of acrylamide-maleic acid hydrogels Akkas, Pinar; G�ven, Olgun Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 78, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4628(20001010)78:2<284::AID-APP70>3.0.CO;2-9	journal	January 2000
Adsorption Efficiency of a New Adsorbent Towards Uranium and Vanadium Ions at Low Concentrations Kavaklı, Pınar Akkaş; Seko, Noriaki; Tamada, Masao Separation Science and Technology, Vol. 39, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1081/SS-120030785	journal	January 2005
Recovery of Uranium from Seawater: A Review of Current Status and Future Research Needs Kim, Jungseung; Tsouris, Costas; Mayes, Richard T. Separation Science and Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2012.712599	journal	January 2013
Equilibria in uranyl carbonate systems—II Scanlan, Joseph P. Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 39, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1902(77)80578-2	journal	January 1977
The Chemistry of Amidoximes and Related Compounds. Eloy, F.; Lenaers, R. Chemical Reviews, Vol. 62, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1021/cr60216a003	journal	April 1962
How Amidoximate Binds the Uranyl Cation Vukovic, Sinisa; Watson, Lori A.; Kang, Sung Ok Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 51, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/ic300062s	journal	February 2012
Recovery of Uranium from Seawater Sugasaka, K.; Katoh, S.; Takai, N. Separation Science and Technology, Vol. 16, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1080/01496398108057594	journal	October 1981
Recovery of uranium from seawater. 13. Long-term stability tests for high-performance chelating resins containing amidoxime groups and evaluation of elution process Egawa, Hiroaki; Kabay, Nalan; Shuto, Taketomi Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 32, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1021/ie00015a017	journal	March 1993
Adsorption of uranium ions by resins with amidoxime and amidoxime/carboxyl group prepared by radiation-induced polymerization Choi, Seong-Ho; Choi, Min-Seok; Park, Yong-Tae Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Vol. 67, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-806X(03)00072-0	journal	June 2003
Preparation of hydrophilic amidoxime fibers by cografting acrylonitrile and methacrylic acid from an optimized monomer composition Kawai, Tomomi; Saito, Kyoichi; Sugita, Kazuyuki Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Vol. 59, Issue 4, p. 405-411 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-806X(00)00298-X	journal	October 2000
Fine Fibrous Amidoxime Adsorbent Synthesized by Grafting and Uranium Adsorption–Elution Cyclic Test with Seawater Seko, Noriaki; Katakai, Akio; Tamada, Masao Separation Science and Technology, Vol. 39, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1081/SS-200042997	journal	January 2004
Preparation and performance of amidoxime fiber adsorbents for recovery of uranium from seawater Kago, Tokihiro; Goto, Akira; Kusakabe, Katsuki Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 31, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/ie00001a029	journal	January 1992
Optimum preparation conditions of amidoxime hollow fiber synthesized by radiation-induced grafting Saito, Kyoichi; Yamaguchi, Takeo; Uezu, Kazuya Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 39, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1002/app.1990.070391010	journal	May 1990
Characterization of Uranium Uptake Kinetics from Seawater in Batch and Flow-Through Experiments Kim, Jungseung; Oyola, Yatsandra; Tsouris, Costas Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 52, Issue 27 https://doi.org/10.1021/ie400587f	journal	June 2013
Uptake of Uranium from Seawater by Amidoxime-Based Polymeric Adsorbent: Field Experiments, Modeling, and Updated Economic Assessment Kim, Jungseung; Tsouris, Costas; Oyola, Yatsandra Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 53, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1021/ie4039828	journal	March 2014
Parametric Studies on Radiation Grafting of Polymeric Sorbents for Recovery of Heavy Metals from Seawater Prasad, T. L.; Tewari, P. K.; Sathiyamoorthy, D. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 49, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1021/ie100326q	journal	June 2010
An Engineering Scale Study on Radiation Grafting of Polymeric Adsorbents for Recovery of Heavy Metal ions from Seawater Prasad, T. L.; Saxena, A. K.; Tewari, P. K. Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Vol. 41, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.5516/NET.2009.41.8.1101	journal	October 2009
Radiation-induced graft copolymerization of binary monomer mixture containing acrylonitrile onto polyethylene films Choi, Seong-Ho; Nho, Young Chang Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Vol. 58, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-806X(99)00367-9	journal	April 2000
Application of radiation-graft material for metal adsorbent and crosslinked natural polymer for healthcare product Tamada, Masao; Seko, Noriaki; Yoshii, Fumio Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Vol. 71, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2004.03.044	journal	September 2004
Comparison of Amidoxime Adsorbents Prepared by Cografting Methacrylic Acid and 2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate with Acrylonitrile onto Polyethylene Kawai, Tomomi; Saito, Kyoichi; Sugita, Kazuyuki Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 39, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1021/ie990474a	journal	August 2000
Aquaculture of Uranium in Seawater by a Fabric-Adsorbent Submerged System Seko, Noriaki; Katakai, Akio; Hasegawa, Shin Nuclear Technology, Vol. 144, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.13182/NT03-2	journal	November 2003
Preirradiation grafting of acrylonitrile onto polypropylene monofilament for biomedical applications: I. Influence of synthesis conditions Gupta, Bhuvanesh; Jain, Rachna; Anjum, Nishat Radiation Physics and Chemistry, Vol. 75, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2005.04.003	journal	January 2006
Modification of polypropylene fiber by radiation-induced graft copolymerization of acrylonitrile monomer Plessier, Clara; Gupta, Bhuvanesh; Chapiro, Adolphe Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 69, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4628(19980815)69:7<1343::AID-APP9>3.0.CO;2-E	journal	August 1998

Cited By (11)

Polyamidoxime chain length drives emergent metal-binding phenomena Earl, L. D.; Do, C.; Wang, Y. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Vol. 21, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1039/c8cp02198h	journal	January 2019
Sunlight Polymerization of Poly(amidoxime) Hydrogel Membrane for Enhanced Uranium Extraction from Seawater Ma, Chunxin; Gao, Jinxiang; Wang, Dong Advanced Science https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201900085	journal	April 2019
Ultrafast and Highly Selective Uranium Extraction from Seawater by Hydrogel-like Spidroin-based Protein Fiber Yuan, Yihui; Yu, Qiuhan; Wen, Jun Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 58, Issue 34 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201906191	journal	July 2019
Significantly Enhanced Uranium Extraction from Seawater with Mass Produced Fully Amidoximated Nanofiber Adsorbent Wang, Dong; Song, Jianan; Wen, Jun Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 8, Issue 33 https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201802607	journal	October 2018
Ultrafast and Highly Selective Uranium Extraction from Seawater by Hydrogel‐like Spidroin‐based Protein Fiber Yuan, Yihui; Yu, Qiuhan; Wen, Jun Angewandte Chemie, Vol. 131, Issue 34 https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.201906191	journal	July 2019
Rational Design of Porous Nanofiber Adsorbent by Blow-Spinning with Ultrahigh Uranium Recovery Capacity from Seawater Yuan, Yihui; Zhao, Shilei; Wen, Jun Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201805380	journal	November 2018
An Ion‐Crosslinked Supramolecular Hydrogel for Ultrahigh and Fast Uranium Recovery from Seawater Yan, Bingjie; Ma, Chunxin; Gao, Jinxiang Advanced Materials, Vol. 32, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201906615	journal	January 2020
Lanthanide complexes with zwitterionic amidoximes stabilized by noncoordinating water molecules Kelley, Steven P.; Rogers, Robin D. Supramolecular Chemistry, Vol. 30, Issue 5-6 https://doi.org/10.1080/10610278.2017.1405002	journal	November 2017
A Marine‐Inspired Hybrid Sponge for Highly Efficient Uranium Extraction from Seawater Wang, Dong; Song, Jianan; Lin, Sen Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 32 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201901009	journal	May 2019
A Universally Applicable Strategy for Construction of Anti‐Biofouling Adsorbents for Enhanced Uranium Recovery from Seawater Yu, Qiuhan; Yuan, Yihui; Wen, Jun Advanced Science, Vol. 6, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201900002	journal	March 2019
A highly efficient uranium grabber derived from acrylic fiber for extracting uranium from seawater Pan, Horng-Bin; Wai, Chien M.; Kuo, Li-Jung Dalton Transactions, Vol. 49, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1039/c9dt04562g	journal	January 2020

Similar Records

Uranium from Seawater Program Review; Fuel Resources Uranium from Seawater Program DOE Office of Nuclear Energy

Program Document · Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · OSTI ID:1261291

Extracting uranium from seawater: Promising AF series adsorbents

Journal Article · Mon Nov 02 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research · OSTI ID:1261291

Das, Sadananda; Oyola, Y.; Mayes, Richard T.; +5 more

Strategies toward the Synthesis of Advanced Functional Sorbent Performance for Uranium Uptake from Seawater

Journal Article · Wed Oct 13 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research · OSTI ID:1261291

Das, Sadananda; Wang, Zongyu; Brown, Suree; +4 more

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
adsorbent
uranium
high surface area
seawater

Title: Synthesis, Development, and Testing of High-Surface-Area Polymer-Based Adsorbents for the Selective Recovery of Uranium from Seawater

Citation Formats

References (42)

Cited By (11)

Similar Records

Related Subjects